Integrative Seminar: Research Development for Social Welfare Scholars

Catalog description

Social work is, historically, an inclusive and diverse discipline that draws from multiple traditions to focus scholarship and research to address social justice and social change. The field of social work is in a period of critical self-reflection, strategy-setting (e.g. the Grand Challenges), and transformation. Developing scholars of social welfare will enter into an increasingly transdisciplinary research landscape that requires training opportunities that align with trends in the field, including capacity and readiness to engage in team science, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, translations of research evidence to policy, and partnerships with multiple stakeholders. The purpose of this year-long integrative seminar is to provide a forum for developing social welfare scholars to engage in an active learning community across cohorts. The community is designed to actively engage in developing dimensions of social welfare researchers that are common to all of us, although we have varied research aims, populations, change goals, and disciplinary and/or system/community partners. The seminar uses a range of formats (e.g. invited speakers, discussion panels, and student working sessions) and is designed to offer flexible responsiveness to challenges that doctoral students are experiencing, and beyond the normative bounds of standing courses or project activities. This course is purposefully cross-cohort, from first year students through dissertation active students. The aim is to foster a sense of collegiality, peer mentorship, and doctoral student community.